I don't see how one could write a book on landscaping the ranch-style home without having some photos of such homes in the book, any more than one could re: Craftsman, Victorian, and so forth. By training and nature, I operate under the principle of "never assume anything," and so I have not yet assumed that the OP even HAS a ranch style home as I understand them. I've seen any number of somewhat modest and likely one-story homes called a "ranch" (or "rancher") even though that home may have a number of features related to its actual height and width proportions, roof line, embellishments, ceiling heights, porticos, verticality and so forth that to me makes it, well, something else, at least in terms of whether any generic ranch-landscape principles could apply. So one can have a generic discussion, but fundamentally each individual offered "visual" of a landscape is based on an associated underlying, assumed, envisioned, particular house.

It was so much fun to read about everyone's paths to a "new old house." We are finishing our build in the next month, and I was very inspired by the concept of the new old house. For me, it was about capturing the classic proportions of old houses, rather than attempting to replicate them. For us, budget was a major concern, so I could not afford all of the materials that a true Versace-approved new old house would require. Instead, we focused on not making the mistakes that poorly done "new old houses" seem to really suffer from, like wrong roofing, wrong windows, etc. In some ways, it is just as important to focus on what NOT to do as it is to think about what TO do. I used two books, in addition to Versace's and lots of books of historic homes from our area, that gave detailed information about construction patterns. One is "Traditional Construction Patterns" but I can't recall the other right now. They are both on Amazon. (And I probably reviewed them there.) What they did was teach me what the obvious markers are of a poorly-done traditional construction...they are the things that - once you can recognize them - make the house obviously "wrong." By adhering to traditional construction practices and using new materials, we were able to avoid some of the mistakes that we would have inevitably made attempting to build a "new old house" on a budget. The homes in Versace's book and portfolio are gorgeous, but totally out of our reach. And, as other have suggested, really studying the home in the area helped me immensely. I paid attention to the size and placement of windows and doors, shape of window lights and number, trim details, porch raining profiles, etc. I was really obsessed! Good luck on your design and build. This is such an exciting process.

Thanks ILoveRed; did you ever build that wonderful house? The forum seems to have taken a turn for the worse when members were allowed to advertise their commercial status. Remember when business use of the forum would have cost you your membership and put a picture of the tea cups ride on your screen? Did you know the PRO badge turns green when you've filled out all of your profile and have 3 reviews, etc.? You get rewards for supporting the new business model. Of course, in the old days the contractors hated architects and that seems to be coming back. MightyAnvil got kicked around a bit but Renovator 8 didn't. Its odd that Corbu2 wasn't pegged as an architect. Rita, thanks for paying attention; I appreciate it. The historic architecture of Edgartown looks wild and crazy compared to Nantucket, however, the variety of architecture on the Vineyard is impressive. I took some French friends through the historic district and it felt like a final exam in architectural history. Of course, they didn't think the 1700's were very old. Unfortunately, the very early buildings have been lost. Vacation houses arrived in the 20's. Ahearn's favorite style is the Shingle Style and its the most eclectic style of all, allowing much room for personal expression and he makes good use of it. I found Kevin's house at 8 Chambers Way, Edgartown. I hope he comes back to claim it someday. $950,000

a bathroom area where the sink/counter is out by the hall , and the bath and toilet are both behind (a) door/s works well for a full house. My personal preference is to keep the toilet accessible while someone is in the shower/tub (which, of course, means an opaque covering for the shower/tub to retain privacy), because I can't seem to find the off-switch for the kids' bladders when someone else is in the shower. lol Granted, I currently only have 2 toilets, and no powder room. Three of my kidlets aren't potty trained yet (we're a special needs family, plus I have a young toddler), and I'd love to have an extra toilet when all 7 kids are out of diapers. Miss Miranda may feel differently! :-D